Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 08

The mystery of the Dark Samurai deepens. While Musashi only cares about fighting the strongest person around, Inshun seems to know more about what’s going on. And something that’s going on is that there’s a malevolent entity in the town that’s searching for some Guardian Stone. And even though it warns her to remember what it means to be revived, Inshun wants to stay true to herself. But does that mean giving in to the relentless friendly Juubei? It’s kind of hard not to, as endearing as she is. But even after that friendliness, there’s still suspicion of Inshun when she’s seen at the scene of the ‘slasher’ attack.

I think the show’s really coming into its stride with these recent episodes. The story has been progressing, we’ve had some amusement and some fighting, and we’re definitely closing in on not just the big fight between the Dark Samurai and the Yagyuu Dojo, but also the bigger mystery of why the Dark Samurai were revived. And once again, next week they’re teasing ‘another Master Samurai’. Even though Matabei and Hanzou were discussing it this week, as each wants to get stronger to help protect those they love, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be Gisen recovering her powers. Matabei and Hanzou are forever doomed to just be normal Samurai in the service of Yukimura and Sen.

—————–

Photo Kano – 08

I’m hoping this wasn’t the best episode of Photo Kano that we’re going to get, but if it is, then it was a good one. Following Aki’s ‘route’, we learn about her reasons for studying so hard (she has to become a doctor to inherit her family’s hospital), her crisis in confidence (she thinks she’s just not smart enough), and even the reason she was late that day that Kazuya caught her sneaking into the school (she was actually helping someone who was sick get into her family’s hospital). But all of this starts to be revealed when Kazuya catches the rules stickler seitokaichou cutting class on the roof. In true “go big or go home” fashion, he convinces her to leave the school entirely and cut the whole day.

This episode did pretty well balancing and presenting both Aki and Kazuya’s feelings. After their impromptu date while playing hooky, Aki decides she doesn’t care about the blackmail pictures he has, and this forces Kazuya to realize that that’s the connection he’s got to her. Fearing that he’ll lose that connection to her, he asks for a date, and it’s from this point on that they’re on the pathway to love. And unlike Haruka, who had a long history of waiting for Kazuya to come around to her, or Hikari, who just seemed to do a complete turnaround for no real reason, this time we actually do see the changes that being together with Kazuya makes in Aki. She realizes she should embrace all the imperfect parts of her, and use them all to be a complete person. And Kazuya really is the catalyst. The end of the show truly did a good job conveying their mutual love for the other.

There are definitely drawbacks to using this sort of omnibus format for the show, especially on a short one-cour series. Amagami SS was able to devote 4 episodes to each of 6 girls. But Photo Kano is trying to shove 7 endings into 12 episodes. Apart from Haruka, who got two episodes to finish (and even then, I thought some parts were rushed while others were a little longer than they needed to be), it seems all the other girls will get just one. And as I said about Hikari, without a lot of background, it just felt super rushed in her one episode. But I definitely think the groundwork done for Aki in the first four setup episodes paid off, allowing a satisfying finish in just one episode. We already knew a lot about her, and their developing relationship, and that translated pretty well into the ending. Based on that, I think we’ll probably get good endings for Mai and Nonoka, but will probably be disappointed with Tomoe and Rina. But we’ll see next week with Nonoka!

The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 07

Tsukushi would get along well with Akane Isshiki. And somehow be the stupider of the two.

Way too many bottles for a baby that size. Is Tsukushi out of frame in the crib pounding those down?

So this one was kind of a closed circle mystery episode, with Youto investigating who was the cause of this mysterious magical typhoon. Can’t say it was amazing or anything, but I liked the misdirection with Tsukushi’s wish from the previous episode and Azusa’s musings on becoming Adam and Eve of the new world. The resolution with Tsukiko was pretty sweet, though the drama felt a little too heavy to be supported by the narrative thus far. And is “HENTAI Prince” really an apt title for Youto at this point? I’ve seen too little of his perversions and too much of him being kind and reasonable and sympathetic to make that nickname stick. Amazing music in that scene, though, and the magical home repair was directed nicely.

So it’s clear by now that one of this show’s main themes is “Be careful what you wish for,” with a heavy use of magic to illustrate its points. Pushing the bounds of magic realism without breaking completely into fantasy, I think. I wonder about the laughter that ended the previous episode, though. Was that just a red herring, or is it going in the back burner before returning, possibly with Azusa’s next misguided wish? Given how the show’s been continually escalating things, I’m guessing it will be back with a vengeance before all is said and done.

21 Responses to “MetaFap – 44 [NSFW]”

Hapless Samurai: I have to cordially bring this series to it’s knees. While it seems, going into the final stretch, that a plot is picking up, it seems to little to late at this point. There has been far to much derp going on, that contrasts it with the last season. Yes, there was derp, but it had some style. This season it has continued to fall flat. I did enjoy the entire friendship angle, but I am such a sucker for those sorts of thing.

I definitely think that this show dug itself a huge hole. It wasn’t ever going to be spectacular, but the start of the season was just so bad that even though they’ve stopped digging for the last few episodes, and even started to fill in the hole, they’re still way below grade (to carry a metaphor a bit too far). Perhaps the biggest sin was the beach contest episode, since that came after they seemed to start getting better, and it was just so awful.

Perhaps I’m good at compartmentalizing, cause I’ve separated that early run from the later stuff with Maeda Keiji and Gisen, and am enjoying it a lot more.

I’ve said before that I am a huge fan of the doki doki fuwa fuwa programs (champing at the bit for at least four of them next season), and with Tamako Market last season, and Chuunibyou before, one could state that I am rather high on the feels at this point. Henneko is most welcome here.

As you’ve stated, good sir, the level of magical realism is sublime and well met. Character development has been top notch (thou we could all hope for better with the Steel King), and the staff has masterful pacing. Each moment has lead so naturally to the next.

Yeah, the problem with the show for me has been Tsukushi. Come ON! She still doesn’t get that there’s no twins, and no maligned younger brother? She’s by far the most delusional character. It’s even hard to believe in her being part of the love polygon because she thinks she’s after a different person.

I keep on thinking she’s playing the Second Doctor, as in, she’s pretending to be an idiot to catch the other’s off guard. That’s a pretty weak chain of thought thou, she isn’t a cute at Patrick Troughton

Photo Kano 08 – I like the first half of the ep., then the romance kicks in and from there I couldn’t really buy the feelings, like this is a couple that’s bound to break up during the time that Maeda is still in high school while she’s going to college. Was one of the better photoshoots Maeda’s done with a wet Aki right by the lockers.

There’s definitely the danger of ‘breaking up in college’. But as someone whose wife was still in high school while he was in college (and she even went to a different college for a year after that), for me the story worked fine. But I thought their relationship was actually based in something grounded, a mutual attraction that was built through interaction, neither a love-at-first-sight nor ‘saving’ situation. Yes, Maeda was there while Aki was down, but that was more because he was a guy who cared about her. And I could totally understand that ache he felt as Aki was walking out of his life, and how he wanted to keep her in it enough to rashly ask her out on a date… something that she obviously wanted him to do.

I have to say that I’m really enjoying that this season we’re getting such a large variation on harem anime. Most of them seem to incorporate some elements of the usual, but each has a bit of a twist in how they’re handling the protagonist and relationships. From Samurai Brides’ not really trying to get Muneakira, to HenNeko’s two girls who want Youto who himself thinks he’s too out there for them and is just trying to prove he’s nice, to Hataraku Maou-sama’s girls who are variously falling for and trying to kill Maou, to Date A Live’s active harem juggling with overly powerful girls. Even in Nyarlko, Mahiro knows what’s going on, just resists because Nyarlko is so pushy. And OreImo’s pulling together the harem, with the ‘fallback’ position that everyone hates. Perhaps the most ‘conventional’ one is OregaIru (snafu), and even in that, the MC distinguishes himself with self-loathing.

And not a single one of these shows feels as formulaic and insipid as the harem shows we’ve had in the last few seasons, like Who is Imouto?, OreShura, Da Crapo III, OniAi, or Boku H. I know a lot of people are dumping on LN adaptations, but from what I’m seeing, they’re not that bad, and getting better.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride – 08: Inconsistency is annoying. I don’t like how the story is finally taking place but being put so close to the end of the series. It’s going to leave a bad taste because everything is going to feel rushed and while I like this series, the second season is going backwards story wise compared to the first.

Inshun always seemed the most concerned about her surroundings and questioning why she was revived whereas the other Dark Samurais are just following their most basic desires. Whatever’s going on, she’ll be the first to find out.

Photo Kano – 08: The only downside to Kazuya’s personality is that he has the trait of a scoundrel using the “Illicit entry” bit to coerce Muroto to let him do what he wants and that he’s actually taking pleasure in doing so. Well, at least it shows he’s a bit different from the average anime protagonist.

However, I’m glad he was a gentleman and went out of his way to comfort her when she was down. It sucks that you have to give all of yourself to meet expectations but such is life. The difference among people is how you deal with things. I liked how nice and slow the romance went. There was nothing excessive or anything to make it feel unrealistic. The outing suited them well and the Photography Club president is a bro for maintaining the atmosphere by keeping those two guys from interfering.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia had a ghost lurking around the school and apparently Photo Kano has one as well. The kicker in all this? Both of them are named Yuuko. Seriously, I can no longer see that girl as a human.

The Shashin-bu buchou has really stepped up in all these cases. Every time he needs to be a bro, he’s gone over and above. Putting everyone on the ‘find Haruka’ case, and now putting the brakes on Itta when he was going to go interrupt them. Oh, and also his speech to Haruka about putting the kibosh on the whole exhibit if she didn’t like it.

The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat – 07: It’s amazing how far people would go just to have a selfish wish granted and through misinterpretation. Tsukushi’s wish was a perfect cover for Tsukiko’s that it was frightening how well they were in sync. Hadn’t Youto persisted to find out the real cause for the typhoon, all fingers would have remained pointed at Tsukushi. Like you said, it’s “be careful what you wish for” so it should be a good lesson to teach them to be more composed when making a wish because all the chaos was coming from the whims of over emotional individuals and people don’t think clearly in such a state.